


Slaughterhouse

by noumenon



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Dave is a hitman, Humanstuck, Karkat is a streetboy, M/M, five year age gap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-19
Updated: 2012-09-19
Packaged: 2017-11-14 15:25:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/516805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noumenon/pseuds/noumenon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this was my entry for the ss-davekat contest from forever ago that just ended.<br/>(orignially posted on my tumblr http://goodomensandtea.tumblr.com/post/24183506609)<br/>if you were following the contest then you probably didn't see my entry because for reasons unknown it was never added to the submissions list, and I'm kind of worried that it was never even taken into consideration.<br/>but there's really not much that can be done now.<br/>the theme was<br/>"I live near the slaughter house and am ill with thriving"</p>
    </blockquote>





	Slaughterhouse

**Author's Note:**

> So this was my entry for the ss-davekat contest from forever ago that just ended.  
> (orignially posted on my tumblr http://goodomensandtea.tumblr.com/post/24183506609)  
> if you were following the contest then you probably didn't see my entry because for reasons unknown it was never added to the submissions list, and I'm kind of worried that it was never even taken into consideration.  
> but there's really not much that can be done now.  
> the theme was  
> "I live near the slaughter house and am ill with thriving"

The streets were a hard place to live, especially here. Here, there were a handful of micro-gangs running about, attempting to prove their superiority in this relatively young city. Needless to say, these gangs were, like the city, young. If just the fact that there are gangs running about weren’t enough, they were, like the city, young and as such immature and inelegant. Just beating random strangers for a few bucks was, to them, the best way to make it big. This left street kids at the mercy of dozens of testosterone filled idiots, and not all them were so good at fending for themselves.  
Karkat was, unfortunately, one of these people.  
So here he was, digging through the trash behind a restaurant hoping to find something that wasn’t too rotten to eat. It was a pretty good idea, but other people had the same idea, so Karkat usually stuck to searching for food before the restaurant even opened. Needless to say, that meant there wasn’t much food to be scavenged. But hey, it also meant no competition.  
Or it usually did.  
Karkat was brought to the unfortunate realization of his competition right as he found a bundle of stale bread, a great score, and shoved them into his pocket moments before he was hit on the back of the head and knocked to the ground.  
Edges of his vision went black and Karkat struggled to drag himself to his feet. Growling, he glared at the intruder, a boy a roughly his age, but Karkat was already a bit on the small side and this guy definitely looked stronger. Karkat did have one advantage though, and that was that he was fast and agile.  
Karkat quickly dodged a second punch, ducking behind the other boy and sweeping his foot out from under him. The fall took the boy by surprise, and Karkat could hear a small crack as he fell and hit the rim of the dumpster, probably the sound his nose breaking. An unfortunate hit for the kid, but a lucky one for Karkat. Triumphant, the turned and began to walk away.  
He didn’t get five steps away before he was kicked down.  
He hadn’t even heard the boy get up.  
Karkat struggled to take in everything at once, figuring out the best course of action while keeping in might his urges to fight were ill advised. Before the boy could do anything more, Karkat rolled over. A battle where he couldn’t even see his attacker wouldn’t go over well, that much he knew.  
Adrenaline was pumping through his veins and every possible scenario raced through his head. There was no way Karkat could win this fight, and he knew it. As much as it pained him to realize, Karkat knew there was only thing he could do to avoid getting beaten, so he reached into his pockets and pulled out the rolls, tossing them at the boy’s feet. After all, living to scavenge another day was worth more than any food he might find.  
Something was wrong. The look in the boy’s eyes. He was pissed. The rolls went unnoticed as the boy reached into his pocket, pulling out what Karkat knew from experience to be a knife.  
Karkat scrambled back. This is what he got for not running away when he won like a sensible street boy, because no his pride wanted him to walk away like a victor with his head held proud. Didn’t he know street kids lost their rights to pride? Of course he did. He just ignored it like an idiot.  
There was a soft click as the boy snapped the blade out, and all Karkat could think was how this was possibly the most pathetic way to go.

 

Dave was patrolling the streets, on the lookout for his mark. He was hired by one of the small gangs in the neighborhood to kill another gang’s leader. All this chaos fueled by idiocy of testosterone filled dipshits was doing wonders for his wallet. They were all hiring him to kill of other leaders. None of them seemed to understand that the gangs were just regrouping after each assassination. All this killing was doing nothing to gain them power in this ridiculous struggle to be the big bad city gang. It didn’t pay too well, after all these were fledgling gangs so it wasn’t like they had money burning a hole in their pockets, but with all these idiots so keen to throw their little bundles of money in his face he was certainly doing well enough.  
There was still no sign of his mark, but that wasn’t really surprising. It was pretty early in the morning, much earlier than a time when some punk kid would be up to wreak some pathetically weak havoc on people who are smaller than him. Dave had kind of hoped that maybe the guy would have stayed up all night in a bar and would be out on the streets now, but it looked like that wasn’t the case. He had hit up the spots he was told about by his clients and some other helpful morons eager to squeal for a free round of beer.  
So here he was, walking down a random road. He had a while to go before he could start looking for his mark again, so he might as well just wander. It good for more than just passing the time, too. He had to make sure he never forgot the layout of this city, and wandering helped him to learn every path.  
Dave glanced absently to the side as he walked past the alleys, stopping once to do a double take. It was an alley next to a restaurant, and there was a boy on the ground, and another one standing over him with a knife. Probably just some punks who got in a disagreement over some food, and Dave knew he would be better off just walking by. But as he looked at the kid on the ground, he couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He was pretty small, and while Dave couldn’t see his face from here, the boy’s shoulders looked tired and worn, not something anyone should see on a kid that age. From Dave’s experience, he could tell that kid had probably been on the streets most of his life.  
Acting before he thought it through, Dave pulled out a small knife from his pocket and threw it at the attacking street boy, just grazing the boy’s face. The boy nearly jumped, not at all expecting the knife. He looked up, turning his glare to Dave.  
“You should pick up your ass and take it somewhere else.” Dave told him.  
“Yeah an what if I don’t wanna?” The boy snarled.  
Dave just smirked, pulling out his gun from his belt. “You should never underestimate the power of dues ex machina.”  
The boy just stared at him oddly. Dave really needed to learn that most street kids wouldn’t know any Latin phrases. “Dick move bringing a gun to a knife fight…” the boy grumbled, slowly backing up. He grabbed the rolls off the ground before running off, leaving Dave alone with the boy on the ground.

 

“Shit.” Karkat finally said after a few moments. He didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t think he was going to be getting out getting stabbed by some hungry freak. Being alive was still kind of a shock to him.  
Slowly Karkat pulled himself up into a sitting position. Looking up, he stared at the man who saved him. He knew he should probably be grateful, but in his experience someone saving you didn’t always mean they were helpful. Maybe he just wanted something.  
“You need some help getting up?”  
Karkat glared at the stranger, backing away a bit. He wasn’t prepared to take any chances. After all, whoever this guy was, he had a gun. That either meant he was in one of the gangs or was at the very least just as dangerous as them.  
The stranger didn’t back off, though. Instead he held out his hand.  
Karkat stared at the hand, then at the man’s face. He couldn’t read any expression on him, and not just because the man was wearing shades. Hesitantly, Karkat reached up and let himself be pulled to his feet, grumbling a soft “Thanks”.  
Neither one said anything for another moment. Finally, the stranger spoke. “Names Dave.” he said nonchalantly. Karkat just eyed him curiously. “Why are you telling me? I don’t care who you are.” he replied. “Ouch,” Dave feigned hurt, putting his hand over his heart. “And after I saved your ass and everything. That’s cruel, dude.”  
Karkat crossed his arms, still not sure what to make of Dave.  
Dave sighed and reached into to his pocket, causing Karkat to go back into a defensive mode and backing up. “What so now you’re going to pull knife on me?”  
“Whoah dude, calm down. I get that you’re used to people trying to hurt you, but I’m not like that.” That wasn’t entirely true, but it’s not like Karkat knew it.  
The words didn’t seem to have any effect on calming the boy, but Dave proceeded anyways, pulling out a wallet from his pocket. “I’m guessing you’re pretty hungry and you just lost your meal, so here.” He held out a fifty dollar bill for Karkat to take.  
“Why?” Karkat asked, staring at the bill. This didn’t make any sense to him, and his instincts told him to never believe something that didn’t make sense.  
Dave shrugged and let go of the bill, letting it float to the ground. “Like I said, you look hungry.” And without offering any further explanation, the man walked off.  
Karkat watched him go, still anxious and worried the man would turn around and shoot randomly, but those fears weren’t realized.  
After Dave was out of sight for a minute, Karkat bent over and picked up the money. He eyed it carefully. It certainly looked real, but it’s not like Karkat really had anything to compare it to.  
He pocketed the money. He was too hungry to worry over the possibility of it being fake.

 

Dave walked down the street, hands in his pocket. He wasn’t entirely sure why he helped that kid out. More so he had no idea why he felt the need to actually give him money. Something about the kid just made Dave feel sorry for him.  
Dave himself had never had to live on the streets. No, he’d been spared that thanks to his older brother. His brother wasn’t that great, though he did teach Dave all the skills he used for his profession today, and in the end Dave couldn’t really complain. After all, he could survive today and wasn’t that the important thing?  
Although Dave is pretty sure that was the right way to go about teaching a kid to fend for themself and definitely not a child rearing technique a guardian should be proud of.  
But hey, if it kept him in a home then Dave couldn’t really complain. Sure, his brother was pretty bad and did some bad things, a lot actually as he was in the same line of work as Dave is in now, but everyone had to get money somehow.  
There ain’t no rest for the wicked. Money don’t grow on trees.  
Dave almost smiled as the song came into his head. Suited the situation all right, so he ended up pulling out his iPod and earbuds and setting his playlist on shuffle and let the music play as he wandered through the streets.

 

It was later that night that Karkat saw the man who had saved him again. Small world, huh. The whole scene was pretty intense, though. Karkat wasn’t entirely sure what was going on.  
Everything had started off just fine. For the first time in forever Karkat wasn’t hungry. Turns out the money wasn’t fake, though Karkat still didn’t know why the man had given it to him. Then again, he didn’t care that much either. After all, money was money, right? It got him fed, and being fed felt so good.  
Karkat was just walking down the street, on the lookout for a quiet place to hide out for a while, preferably somewhere quiet. Obviously he didn’t find that.  
There was a gunshot, and people scattered like frightened deer.  
Karkat was one of those people. For him it was less out of fear of the shooter and more of fear of a gang war erupting. Those weren’t uncommon and were definitely the last thing he wanted to be in the middle of. He ran down the first alley he saw. He was hoping he’d be alone there, since most people didn’t run into dead ends to escape a shooter. That’s exactly why Karkat did it. It wasn’t like the shooter was going to be going after random people if this was turning into a gang war, at least that’s what the case was in all likelihood, and someone going after revenge wouldn’t assume someone hiding in an alley was the shooter.  
The only thing was that today that wasn’t the case. There was another person in the alley with Karkat, and it was the same man from morning. That was certainly odd, but nothing for Karkat to worry about. The man, Dave, had helped him then so it was hard to think now he would be a serious threat.  
Dave spotted him, though Karkat didn’t pay attention, he was too busy looking around the corner to see if anyone was coming. He didn’t pay any mind to Dave until he was yanked back by the collar and shoved up against the wall. “What the ever-loving fu--!” Karkat started to yell before a hand was clamped over his mouth. “Shut up, do you want to get shot?” Dave whispered into his ear, glancing over to the entrance of the alley to make sure nobody was coming. “Just keep your mouth shut. Someone might be coming.” Dave said after a moment, taking his hand off of Karkat’s mouth.  
Growling, Karkat tried to push Dave off. “Get off me!” Dave just rolled his eyes, only barely visible through the dark shades. “Be quiet, kid.” Dave hissed. “Stop calling me kid!” Karkat said, raising his voice. “You never gave me a name, and you’re what? Fourteen? You’re a kid, kid.” Karkat pushed at the man one last time. “I’m seventeen and my name is Karkat.” Dave sighed. “Okay, whatever, Karkat. That’s a weird name, you look like a kid, now shut up.”  
Karkat opened his mouth to yell at Dave again, but before he could get any words out there was a shout.  
“He’s in here!” the voice yelled. Karkat could barely see with Dave having pinned against the wall, but he was pretty sure that was the asshole who attacked him this morning.  
“What the hell is going on?” Karkat asked.  
“It doesn’t matter, just run.” Dave said hurriedly, pulling away from the brick wall and grabbing Karkat’s wrist to drag him along as he began running out of the alley and down the street.  
This was madness, but Karkat ran along with Dave regardless. It wasn’t like he had much of a choice, and if there was a reason for anyone to be running Karkat knew it was probably best he run too. He wasn’t about to become collateral damage.  
It wasn’t until they reached an apartment building and Dave finally slowed down that Karkat finally yanked his hand away and glared at Dave. “What the fuck was that about?” he demanded.  
“It was nothing.”  
“It clearly wasn’t nothing! You were running away from someone who probably wanted to kill you, I’m pretty sure you weren’t running away from someone who wanted to tell you that you just won the lottery, and then you dragged me along! I think I deserve to know what the hell just happened.”  
“Calm down. They’re nothing I can’t handle. If you weren’t in the way I probably could have taken them down easy. It’s not in my style to let someone who isn’t involved to get caught in the middle, though, so I pulled you out of it. Happy now?”  
“No, I’m not. I want to know why they were chasing you. What was I in the middle of?”  
“It’s nothing big. I shot their leader. They’ll get a new one within the wee-”  
“You did what?!” Karkat interrupted, almost shouting.  
“I know we’re outside, but this is a pretty good time to use your inside voice.” Dave said, making a motion indicating Karkat should lower his voice.  
“Why the hell did you kill their leader?” Karkat asked, lowering his voice just a bit.  
Dave shrugged. “I was hired to do it, that’s why. Big bucks I can use to pay the bills. Anymore questions?”  
Karkat stared at Dave for a few moments. “You’re a hitman.” He said, looking Dave over.  
“Not exactly a question, but yeah, I am. This city makes it easy, too, what with all these rival gangs. It’s not they haven’t done anything wrong. I’m killing bad people, aren’t I?”  
Karkat laughed dryly. “Oh so you’re a conscious killer.”  
“I’m sorry princess, do my life choices anger you? I saved your life you know. Twice, actually.”  
“If you can even count the second time as saving me! You’re the one who put me in danger in the first place! I’m pretty sure that cancels it out.”  
“Hey man, you’re the one who walked in where I was hiding.”  
“Why were you hiding anyways? I thought a good hitman would be more stealthy.”  
“It’s kind of hard to be stealthy when you get bored. I just wasn’t expecting any gang members to be in that crowd.”  
“Now that just sounds like shit planning.”  
“Okay, yeah, I done goofed. Now close your mouth for like, five minutes.”  
Dave reached out and grabbed Karkat’s arm again, leading him into the building. “Hey whoah, what are you doing? Let me go!” Karkat struggled to pull his arm away.  
“What did I say about being calm and shutting your trap? You’re fine, I’m not going to hurt you. I just don’t want you get killed. Someone probably saw me running off with you so they’ll go looking for you as well as me. You look and smell like you don’t live anywhere so if you want to be safe you should come inside here. Or would you rather brave the elements and get shot?”  
Karkat grumbled, but went along with Dave anyways. He didn’t seem dangerous, and he had a point. Staying out here would be a pretty bad idea.  
The two went up to Dave’s room, and only once they got inside did Dave let go of Karkat. “I guess you can stay here tonight. You can use my bed.” he gestured to a small bed pushed up next to the wall.  
Dave looked over Karkat again. “Actually, you’re going to have to shower before I let you in my bed. I wasn’t kidding about the smell.” He pointed to a door near the corner of the apartment. “Bathroom is right there.”  
Karkat was about to insult Dave, but decided against it. After all, this guy was letting him stay in his house, and on top of that Karkat couldn’t even remember ever being clean. “Fine.” was all he said before he walked over to the bathroom.

 

Half an hour later Karkat yelled out the bathroom door. “Dave what the fuck did you do with my clothes?”  
Dave laughed softly from where he was sitting on the couch. “They smelled like they were soaked in garbage then pissed on by a hobo, so I put them in the laundry. I put some of my clothes next to the door for you.”  
Another few minutes later and Karkat walked out, looking somewhat ridiculous in too big clothes. “I look like an idiot.”  
“Nah I think it looks cute.”  
“You’re clothes are way too big!” Karkat bristled, completely ignoring the ‘cute’ comment.  
“Well duh. Not only am I five years older than you, I also successfully navigated puberty, coming out taller than a fifth grader like I was supposed to.”  
“God, fuck you douche.”  
“That’ll have to wait till you’re older. I don’t want anyone calling Chris Hansen on me.”  
Karkat gave Dave a confused look. Damn kid didn’t get his references. But that wasn’t his fault. It’s not like he ever had a chance to watch Dateline.  
“Welp,” Dave said after a moment. “Bed’s over there in case you forgot. I’ll be over there in front of the TV for a while.”  
Dave walked over to the couch, plopping down and fishing for the remote that always seemed to find its way between the cushions. He had only just started channel surfing when he noticed Karkat moving to sit down next to him.  
“I thought you were going to sleep.”  
“You said that, not me.” Karkat paused. “Anyways, I can’t sleep.”  
Dave shrugged and turned back to the television. “If you want to watch anything, you can tell me. Though I’m going to make a wild guess and assume that you don’t know any TV shows.”  
“And you’d guess correctly. I don’t really give a shit what you watch, so long as it isn’t horrendously terrible.”  
Dave nodded and put on a random late night show, he was pretty sure it was a drama but he didn’t care much. He wasn’t paying attention to most of the words, he really just liked listening to the noise sometimes.  
Despite Karkat’s words of not being tired, it wasn’t long before Dave could hear his breathing slow and not long after that that Dave felt Karkat’s head resting against his shoulder.  
He allowed himself a small smile. After all, no one was here to see him break his poker face, and the kid was kind of cute when he wasn’t yelling or freaking out.  
Dave let Karkat sleep on his shoulder for a few moments before he shifted to pick the boy up and carry him over to the bed.  
After throwing a blanket over him, Dave sat on the edge of the bed and brushed some hair out of Karkat’s face.  
For some reason, Dave found himself hoping Karkat would stay here for a little while longer and not just run off in the morning. ****He wasn’t sure why, maybe he was just tired, but Dave leaned in pressed his lips softly against Karkat’s forehead. The boy stirred, but didn’t wake. Dave knew he wanted Karkat to stay a while longer, though he also knew the idea was stupid.  
But really, who said happiness was restricted to those far from the slaughterhouse that was the inner city? No, he could thrive here as well, and he wanted to, even if his chances were slim.  
He shook his head and walked back the couch. He’d only known Karkat for barely over an hour, nowhere near enough time to think about this sort of thing. Right? That’s not what Dave’s mind thought. All he could do for now was shake it off and sleep on the couch.

 

Karkat awoke when light from the window hit his face. He sat up, feeling groggy, but still feeling better than he had in a long time. He was fairly certain he hadn’t even slept that well back when he had a home.  
Looking around, Karkat had a quick moment of fear before remembering where he was and what had transpired to make him be here, though he was a little curious as to why he was on the bed instead of on the couch where he had actually fallen asleep. He pulled himself out of bed, still fully clothed from the night before, and walked over to the couch to see if Dave was still there.  
“I see you’re up.” Dave called from a nook in the apartment which was clearly mean to be the kitchen area.  
“Did you move me?” Karkat asked. It wasn’t really a question, after all the answer was obvious.  
“No you slept walked over to my bed.” Dave responded automatically. “Of course I moved you. Who else would have done it? It’s not like moving people is in the Sandman’s job description.”  
“What are you doing?” He ignored Dave’s sarcasm.  
“Making lunch.”  
“Lunch? Shit how long did I sleep?”  
“Long enough. It’s not like you have anywhere to be, so it’s all good.”  
Karkat rolled his eyes. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”  
“You looked tired, of course. And you’re much less grumpy when you’re sleeping. Much quieter, too for that matter.”  
“And you’re much less annoying when I’m not conscious to be around you. So I guess it did work out for everyone involved.”  
“Someone doesn’t want lunch.”  
Karkat glared at Dave. “Sorry.” He mumbled.  
Dave smirked. “It’s alright bro, I would have fed you regardless. I figure I owe it to you after I dragged you into my life.”  
“Hmph. You owe me so much food for that. You’re life isn’t exactly somewhere I want to be.”  
“Well if you stick around I’ll make sure you’re fed.”  
“You mean like, past today? Why would you ever do something like that?”  
Dave shrugged. “I don’t know. You’re not that bad, I guess. And it’s not like I have anyone around to keep me company. I figure it wouldn’t be bad to have someone here even if they are grumpy fuck.”  
“I guess I can stay for a little bit longer if you’re that pathetically alone.” Karkat said, a smile just barely ghosting across his face as he sat down at the kitchen table. He wasn't quite sure why, but there was definitely something he liked about Dave, more than the just the superficial 'he's feeding me'. There was something about him that made him enjoyable to be around if he was annoying at the same time.

 

It was almost a week later and Karkat was still hanging around Dave’s apartment. Karkat had pretty early on made the decision to stay until Dave got sick of him and kicked him out, after all he was getting free food from this deal. But, and whether this should be good or bad Karkat had no idea, after the first few days it was beginning to look like that wasn’t going to happen. Evidentially Dave really meant it when he said he wanted someone company, though Karkat couldn’t figure out for the life of him why he was the company the man wanted.  
Tonight he was leaning up against Dave, watching some lame show on television with him that neither of them were giving their full attention.  
By now he had clothes that fit him; Dave had actually thrown out his old crap and bought him new clothes even though Karkat insisted he didn’t need to do that for him. He couldn’t really argue when he actually got the new clothes though, because damn he had never realized how threadbare and uncomfortable his old clothes were until he wore new clothes.  
Things were slow here. Karkat was used to a much different pace of life, and just sitting around was a new thing for Karkat. Half the time they just watched bad shows on TV, and then half way through Dave would put his arm around Karkat’s shoulder regardless of how often Karkat pushed his arm away. Then Dave would pull him closer and Karkat could feel his warmth and he would just think of how easy it was to get used to this. And after that thought was done he would typically yell at Dave for something small and insignificant just for the sake of yelling.  
The one thing Karkat couldn’t get used to was how dangerous Dave’s job was though. Honestly it made him kind of mad. Dave would run off guns a blazin to kill some guy on the streets to get some cash, and sure they needed it especially since Dave was supporting two people now, but Karkat just hated the idea that Dave could be getting himself killed out there.  
Not that he’d ever admit to caring.  
But that whole idea of not caring and Dave is safe was effectively shot in the face when Dave stumbled back into the apartment at night, shirt stained with blood.  
Karkat practically leapt up, running to Dave to help hold him up before he could fall. “Jesus Christ Dave! What did you do?”  
“To be fair, it’s not what I did but what the other person did that I think you’re freaking out over.” Dave drawled. His words were slurring together and Karkat could tell he was barely conscious at this point.  
“That’s not the point! What happened?” He eyed the bloodstain on the shirt. It wasn’t anywhere vital, but whatever the wound was would make a difference.  
“I was hired to shot this guy dead and one of his goonies stabbed me.” Dave explained, leading himself and Karkat over to the bed where he could lay down. “It’s fine.”  
“This is far from fine! How could you even say that? Take off your shirt. I need to see how bad it is. I’ve dealt with this sort of stuff for a while, so I can help.”  
“Okay okay, but touching costs extra.” Dave tried to smirk as if he wasn’t gravely injured and pulled his now very red shirt off and tossed it to the floor.  
Karkat ignored the statement and examined the wound. “You’re going to need to get it patched up quickly so you don’t lose any more blood. Do you have any gauze?”  
“What would you do if I died?”  
“You’re not going to die, and we need to get your fucking wound patched up.”  
“I said ‘what if’.”  
“And I said we need to patch you up before you actually do die!” Karkat was practically shouting. “Stop asking stupid questions and let me help you!” And with that Karkat stormed off the bathroom to search for something to use, coming back a minute later with a clean towel and some tape.  
“How the fuck do you not have gauze?”  
“Never needed it before.” Dave answered with a shrug.  
“And because of your lack of foresight you’re going to have to deal with a towel instead of anything sterile.”  
“It’s not like it’s going to be that ba-OW SHIT!” Dave hissed as Karkat pressed the towel against the wound.  
“Hold still, I need to apply pressure to this.”  
“That hurts how about you don’t apply pressure.”  
“Dave you’re an idiot.” Not relieving the pressure he was putting on the cloth, Karkat reached over and grabbed the tape he brought, unraveling a lot bit and strapping the cloth down on Dave’s side over the wound.  
“Ow god…” Dave mumbled, pulling himself into an upright sitting position. “So now that that hell is over, you can answer my question.”  
“What question?”  
“What would you do if I died?”  
“That was a stupid question when you asked it and it’s as stupid question now.”  
“I’m bleeding. Humor me.”  
Karkat rolled his eyes. “I’d be out on the streets again for starters.”  
“Would you miss me?”  
There was a pause before Karkat answered again. “Yeah.”  
Dave smiled. “Good.”  
There was silence between the two for another moment and Karkat took the opportunity to climb on top of the bed to sit next to Dave.  
“Now what would you do before I died?” Dave asked suddenly.  
“Huh?”  
“If I was dying right now and you couldn’t save me or anything, what would you do?”  
Karkat didn’t answer. He bit his lip, thinking for a moment. He had a pretty good idea what he would do, but he wasn’t about ready to say it.  
“Well?” Dave prompted.  
When there was still no response Dave held his hands up dramatically as if blocking something from his view. “Ah I see the light! Karkat I think I’m drying!”  
“Don’t be so dramatic douchewad.” Karkat grumbled.  
“Aw come on, I just want a solid answer here. Is that too much to ask?”  
“Yes, it is.”  
Dave shifted on to his side, hissing slightly under his breath as the movement hurt his side. “Come on, Karkat.”  
Karkat found himself moving to lay down next to him, faces just inches apart and he glared at Dave. “I’d start digging the hole I’d bury you in.”  
“That’s cold.”  
“I don’t care.” Karkat looked away awkwardly. “The whole question was stupid anways.”  
“Hm. Sorry for putting you on the spot then.” Dave sighed, turning back to look at the ceiling.  
Karkat stared at Dave a moment longer, trying to decide what to do. He was in the clear, but there was still a mutinous part of him that was urging him to act now. And for some reason, that part was winning.  
He leaned in, pressing his lips to Dave’s cheek and quickly pulling away before Dave could react, eyes wide an mind anxious about what the response was going to be.  
Dave just sort of turned to look at Karkat again, looking almost confused and a bit pleased. “Did I just imagine that?”  
Karkat shook his head. “While I’m not entirely sure that your blood loss induced extreme idiocy didn’t make up something completely ridiculous, I’m going to go ahead and assume that what you thought just happened really did.”  
Dave smiled and reached up, pulling Karkat into rage so he could press their lips together. “Good.” he murmured softly.  
Karkat could deal with yelling at Dave tomorrow. The idiot needed a good thrashing for getting hurt, but for now he had something more important to do, which Dave was making abundantly clear as he attempted to shift himself on to Karkat before falling back down in pain.  
"God you're so stupid, you're hurt, remember?" Karkat said, rolling his eyes before shifting himself closer so Dave wouldn't have to.  
They kissed again, this time with more passion. Karkat had to resist the urge to wrap his arms around Dave, out of fear of hurting him by accident. He'd have to wait until Dave was better for that. They had plenty of time though.  
For now, this was enough.  
For someone stuck in the slaughterhouse, things had turned out pretty well. Maybe there was a chance for him to thrive here after all.  
Any reflections on that would probably have to wait until morning though.  
And Karkat was most definitely fine with that. After all, he had an idiot to tend to.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually edited this a bit since it first came out because rereading it some stuff really bothered me. nothing major, just filling in some holes and fixing some inconsistencies.


End file.
